Why do people say that if you are against the war, you are against the troops?

Question

I don't understand how the two are related. Aren't the people that are against the war the ones who want to bring our troops safely home? I don't think anyone in the country (except that crazy Baptist group that protests soldier's funerals) is against the soldiers.

Innovater, you did not answer my question.

Bettyb, I'm not against the Baptists and I understand that these people only claim to be Baptist. No church will have anything to do with them.
They were in town yesterday protesting a soldiers funeral and that is the term everyone was using for them. If you go to www.youtube.com you can see the video where someone on Fox News ripped the leader a new one.

Answer 1

i dont know. I am a millitary brat myself, and i know a lot of "troops" that have come home. they dont feel the same way. i was shiped out over 2 years ago to help transport the wounded. i have asked a few if it was worth it and they all said yes. we dont get to see what is realy happining. my friend came back and his troup vidieow taped some and also took some pics. they only lost 3 people. he was in a convey. he would go through and make sure that things were safe for the ground troops to go in. we watched as the building that he was sapposed to be in was blown up by a truckload of bombs. you can see the truck pull up and the driver bail, then all hell breaks loose. i asked him if he hated the people who dont think that we should go to war. he told me that we are lucky that we live in a country ware we can believe what ever we want. the last thing he said really stuck with me,"if we didn't help who would. there are people dieing over there everyday, good and bad, but atleast they know why they are dieing now". there was genaside and torchers, people being arrested for no reason, he saw all this and said that all he wanted when he came home was a thank you. all he got at the airport was a bunch of people who were spitting and curseing at him. i guess you should just be thankfull that they are over there and you are not. i will be going to germany in 4 months to do another tour. i guess you can sapport us and not like the war. i dont like the war. but the boys i bring home are what matter.

Answer 2

To your Q; B/c they have obviously confused the two issues. They are not the same! I can be in favor of supporting soldiers and still not desire to make war, it depends on my feeling about WHY the war is being fought. I support firemen or policemen but it doesn't mean I want start fires or rob the 7-11.

I feel most ppl want the soldiers to be safely home. I'll not address those who do not, they have issues I'm not willing to label nor go into here. Why the soldiers are there doing what they're doing stems from a myriad of reasons, too many to even begin to look into.

I'm in your camp as far as most ppl wanting the soldiers home safely, however, it's just not that simple to want something and then to make it happen. Every decision comes with a price.

Continue your support, they will all appreciate down to the individual. I know b/c I've been there.

Answer 3

It's not so hard to understand. The military is here to protect the country and her freedoms. Usually, that protection includes war or some sort, even if it's not on the battlefield. If you can't support war, you can't support the troops. War is what they do in some form or the other. You think you can have it both ways, but really you can't. And no, the people against the war don't bring the troops home. They endanger the troops. Protesting and fighting over war brings moral down. What brings the troops home is support for them and the cause so that they can complete their mission....safely....without worry of who's spreading lies and so on about them. And yes, that group that protests funerals and such is crazy. They have no idea how much damage they're doing to themselves and the military. God won't reward them for that kind of behavior. Never forget, there's a military person protecting your right to complain, protest or what ever you do. They deserve total support, not conditional.

Answer 4

Part of supporting our troops is supporting the mission that they are on. Sending care packages, or wishing them home soon is only part of the support they need. To keep up morale, the troops in the field need to know that the American people want them to be successful and emerge victorious. This does not mean you can not be against the war at the same time however. Debating the war is positive, but saying things like we can not or will not win damages the troops morale. We can even discuss pulling them out tomorrow and support the troops, but we can not show sympathy to the enemy and undermine our soldiers confidence. The only way you can change the plan and course of the war is to change leadership and that will be at least two years away.

Answer 5

A very good question. (And if I see another one of those yellow ribbon stickers on the back of a gas-guzzing SUV, I will puke my liver out.)

The implication of the whole "Support Our Troops" campaign is to suggest that if you do not fully believe in the reasons that we went to war in Iraq, then, by a chain of flimsy logic, you actually don't support the success and health of the troops on the ground. In reality, it is quite possible to support the troops (in more ways than just putting a sticker on your car) without giving up the right to question the policies of the current administration.

It's quite possible to hope that, whatever the U.S. troops do over there, that they do it in a effective, successful and ethical manner, and that they represent this country well, AND YET still not believe that the war was justified in the first place. We're there: let's do it right & come home.

Who cares what the enemy thinks about war protesters in America? This is the U.S. & the idea of "loyal opposition" has been a part of this nation since before it was conceived.

Just listen to these conservatives who obviously "support the troops" yet find it appropriate to question a president's decision to go to war:

"You can support the troops but not the president" ---Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area." ---Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years." ---Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?" ---Sean Hannity, Fox News

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory...There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no
plan today" -Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

"[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy." ---Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

(Of course, they were all talking about Kosovo, but for them to not still believe these things just because there's a Republican in the White House would be hypocritical. They're not hypocrits...are they?) :P

Answer 6

Because the time for debate was prior to the war, not after the troops are in the thick of it.

When the troops are fighting, to protest and squawk about the war and running away, etc, only undermines their mission, and actually supports and succors their enemies.

Once you have let the enemies know, as the Dems have, that they will cut and run like cowards if elected, and once they see the US media reporting only the bad news as if it were their own propaganda channel, they know they will not lose.

This actually results in a longer war and more dead soldiers. You are blind to the effects of your actions.

Look at Vietnam. After the NVA was annihilated during the Tet Offensive, the only thing that kept them from suing for peace was the protesters in the US, and the anti-war propagandists in the media. General Giap is specifically quoted as saying this is the only reason they knew they would win - because the protesters in the US would undermine the efforts. For that same reason, for his lies about war crimes to Congress, for his shameful protests, John Kerry is honored in the Vietnamese War Museum in Vietnam - because his efforts supported them. And resulted in more US soldiers dying, and the murder, torture, imprisonment and oppression of millions of Vietnamese after the imperialist commies subjugated South Vietnam.

And thus is the same effect you have on our current enemies. You prove the belief of the terrorists that the West is soft and weak and has no stomach to even fight for its own survival. They have seen the US cut and run every time we got our nose bloodied in the past few decades, and have rightly concluded that many, if not most Americans are too ignorant to recognize what harm they've done to their country by supporting a policy of appeasement and cowardice.

You see at this point, the only way to bring our troops home safely, as well as saving millions of lives, is by victory. But you people, and the Democrat politicians, and the propagandist media, have all but ensured a defeat. Not that you will ever be cognizant or aware enough to realize it.
---
PS - the troops DON'T WANT your naive support, if your effort is to cause them defeat, humiliation and to have made their efforts and sacrifices to have been in vain.

Answer 7

Sounds like you are not old enough to remember Vietnam. Those that were against the war then were frequently filmed in sickening scenes booing and spitting at wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen returning home having been wounded in the service of their country. Sadly it did not stop there and many servicemen were hounded in their own communities when they got home. Even today there are Vietnam vets living in the hills away from the society that treated them so badly.

America still suffers the shame of it today and therefore links anti-war with anti-military knowing just how barbaric the supposedly civilised American people can become!

One can only hope it will not happen again!!!

Answer 8

I agree and I'm conservative. You don't have to be for the war to support our troops. The conservative argument is that if you're against the war, you're undermining the cause, thus undermining our troops.

My dad is against the war but he supports the military wholeheartedly.

I, on the other hand, don't know what to believe. I'm pretty much neutral on the subject now because the cause for and against war can be successfully argued. And yes, I do support the military because they're making a difference in the lives of the people of Iraq; building homes, schools, and trying their darndest to make life better after "Sodomy Insane." Even if you are against the war, you have to admit that Iraq is better off without Hussein.

The wacko Baptist group protests funerals, which is really, really hurtful, especially to those who are in mourning. What's worse is that Fred Phelps and Co. hide under the Freedom of Speech to do this kind of crap.

Answer 9

You're right. A lot of people who are against the war, simply want their family or friends serving in Iraq safely back home, because of the unjustified cause of the war. Those who are war-mongering individuals feel that going to Iraq would actually make the world a better place. Apparently not, if you listen or watch the news. Al-Qaida is still plotting terrorist attacks which Saddam Hussein clearly doesn't have anything to do because he's in jail. Also, how is the war in Iraq making the Iraqis' lives better? It seems violence and attacks on civilians are increasing more. Not only that, it seems even US troops take part in committing crimes against civilians.

Answer 10

Because some people still have the image of the anti-war activists in the Vietnam era. Vets would get spit on, called baby-killers, some would get blood thrown on them.

I'm glad the current generation is having a better, more balanced approach. To bad many people can't see that.